1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information record medium such as an optical disk of a high recording density type, which is capable of recording information such as video information, audio information and the like at a high density, and which is represented by a DVD (Digital Video or Versatile Disk). The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus for recording the information onto the information record medium, and a reproducing apparatus for reproducing the information from the information record medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a so-called LD (Laser Disk) and a so-called CD (Compact Disk) are generalized as optical disks, on which information such as video information, audio information and the like is recorded.
On the LD or the like, the video information and the audio information are recorded together with time information indicating a time at which each information is to be reproduced with respect to a reproduction start position, which each LD or the like has, as a standard position. Thus, other than a general normal reproduction to reproduce the recorded information in the order of recording, various special reproductions are possible, such as a reproduction to extract and listen to an only desirable music out of a plurality of recorded musics, a reproduction to listen to the recorded musics in a random order and so on, in case of the CD, for example.
However, there is a problem that, according to the above mentioned LD or the like, a so-called interactive and variegated reproduction is not possible in which the audience can have a plurality of selection branches as for the video or audio information to be displayed or sound-outputted and in which the audience can select them to watch or listen to it.
Namely, for example, such an interactive reproduction as in a recent game or educational software cannot be performed in which, after a "question" is displayed, different displays, audio outputs and the like are selectively performed depending upon the content of "answer" inputted by the audience (e.g., if the "answer" is correct, the video image display or the audio sound output corresponding to the correct answer is performed, while, if the "answer" is incorrect, the video image display or the audio sound output corresponding to the incorrect answer is performed).
On the other hand, a proposal and a development are being made as for an interactive reproduction of the DVD, as an optical disk in which the memory capacity is improved by about ten times without changing the size of the optical disk itself as compared with the aforementioned conventional CD.
It will be possible to make a DVD player perform a special operation, such as a search (retrieving), a scan (speedy watching and checking), a reverse (reverse direction viewing), a slow reproduction, a pause (temporarily stopping) and so on, in the same manner as a conventional LD player, from its constitutional property. Namely, the DVD player capable of performing the aforementioned interactive reproduction, will have dual functions i.e. both of a function of a reproducing apparatus for simply reproducing the information versus time in the same manner as the conventional LD player and a function of an apparatus for performing the interactive operation in the same manner as a personal computer or a game machine. Therefore, in case of the above mentioned DVD for education or game purpose capable of the interactive reproduction, it will be possible to reproduce the "correct answer" screen or the "prize" screen, which is supposed to be watched only after answering the question or attaining the game, before answering the question or attaining the game at the time of performing the search, the scan, the reverse and so on.
Furthermore, it will be also possible to perform the slow reproduction, the pause reproduction or the like, with respect to the reproduction of a software in which the speed is the important factor, such as the shooting game, the fighting game and so on.
On the other hand, in one movie, there may be a scenery in which an ignoble or grubby word (voice sound), which is not desired to be listen to by children, exists. Therefore, the version for adult and the version for child are separately manufactured and sold on the market, as different disks for the same movie. In the same manner, the version of English voice sound with Japanese subtitle and the version of Japanese-dubbed voice sound without any subtitle are manufactured and sold on the market as different disks for the same movie.
In the above explained manner, such reproductions that the "correct answer" screen or "prize" screen, which is supposed to be watched only after answering the question or attaining the game, is watched before answering the question or attaining the game at the time of performing the search, the scan, the reverse and so on, the shooting game or the like is played by the slow reproduction or stopped by the pause, are basically contradict to the intention are basically contrary to the intention of an author (i.e. a producer of the software) and are further undesirable for the audience (i.e. the user of the software) on the progress of the game or study.
However, there is no proposal or development made as for a DVD technique to prohibit such a reproduction at the time of the special operation such as the search, the scan, the slow etc., which is not intended by the author or not desired by the audience. Further, in the technical art of the interactive reproduction of the DVD which has the aforementioned dual functions, the actuality is such that a person having an ordinary skill in this art does not even recognize the problem or subject itself that the reproduction, which is not intended by the author or not desired by the audience, upon performing the special reproduction such as the search, the scan, the slow etc. should not be performed.
On the other hand, manufacturing and selling the adult version and the child version as different disks as aforementioned will cause an increase of the cost and a degradation of the convenience of the disk. Further, in case that those two versions are simply recorded on one disk, the required memory capacity will be roughly doubled as compared with the case of recording just one version thereon, resulting in the high cost again. Furthermore, from the worldwide view point, the standards of vulgarity or scurrility are different from country to country. However, if the disks having the contents different from country to country are produced, the benefit of mass-production is vanished, and that the production control becomes very difficult. Namely, such an administratively undesirable condition happens that only one version of the plurality of versions is sold out while others are left in the basket. In this manner, the technique to efficiently reproduce the adult version and the child version from one disk, or efficiently reproduce the English voice sound version and the Japanese dubbed version from one disk, are not yet proposed or developed.